Israeli Trolls Spread Doctored Image of Ex-Palestinian Prisoner to Avoid Accountability

In late December, the Israeli military arrested Mahmoud Abu Foul at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. Following his recent release, verified footage revealed that torture in Israeli detention robbed him of his eyesight. Despite this, Israeli propagandists widely accused Mahmoud of faking his blindness, attempting to deflect Israel’s responsibility for his abuse and evade accountability.

Ex-Palestinian Prisoner Blinded by Israeli Torture

The Israeli military arrested 28-year-old Mahmoud Abu Foul from northern Gaza at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in late December and detained him in Israeli prisons, where forces beat and tortured him so severely that he lost his eyesight.

Israel freed Mahmoud last week under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which has seen the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

Abu Foul, who lost a leg in an Israeli airstrike in 2015, told Al Jazeera that he endured relentless torture throughout his imprisonment at Sde Teiman prison, known by former detainees as “the prison that breaks men.”

Abu Foul recalled one incident when guards struck his head with such force that he fell unconscious. “When I woke up, I couldn’t see anymore,” he said.

Israeli Trolls Claim Photo of Ex-Prisoner Mahmoud Abu Foul Is Fake

After Israel released Mahmoud Abu Foul last week, pro-Israel social media accounts circulated an image claiming to show Mahmoud with intact eyesight after his release. The posts deflect accountability for Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners and promote the narrative that Gaza residents fabricate injuries.

Israeli propagandists exploited footage captured by photojournalist Osama Kahlout following Abu Foul’s release, in which he recounted the torture he suffered in Israeli custody. 

An Israeli propagandist, who self-proclaimed as “Securing X from fake news,” shared a doctored image from Kahlout’s video showing Mahmoud with normal eyesight, claiming it was the “real” image before manipulating it to depict him as blind.

The user captioned the post, “LIAR KEEP ON LYING. 1. You doctored his eyes on that picture. 2. He was arrested and had a leg injury. No media covers it because this is BS.”

Other X users reposted the same fake image, adding hateful comments such as “I love the way you lie” and “Lies,” while some accused those sharing verified footage of being “paid by foreign actors.”

In addition, Elon Musk’s X AI system, Grok, amplified the false claim after an X user asked it to verify the image’s authenticity. The chatbot said that the image showing Mahmoud blind was fabricated.

“The undoctored photo is the authentic one, showing no evidence of eye gouging or piercing. Claims of such specific torture lack corroboration from reliable sources, and the altered image aligns with patterns of visual manipulation in conflict propaganda,” Grok replied.

Verified Reports Share Mahmoud Abu Foul’s Story After Release

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, freed Palestinian detainee Mahmoud Abu Foul recounted the harrowing details of his arrest and torture by Israeli occupation forces.

Abu Foul said Israeli troops detained him inside Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, where he was receiving treatment and unable to move. “I was receiving treatment at the time of the raid and couldn’t move from one place to another,” he told the agency.

His limited mobility stemmed from the amputation of his left leg in an Israeli bombing in 2015. He has not received a prosthetic limb since and requires constant physical support.

Abu Foul told Anadolu that Israeli interrogators subjected him to severe torture, beatings, humiliation, and verbal abuse during his detention despite his disability.

He described how interrogators repeatedly struck him on the head, both from the front and the back. “One blow knocked me to the ground. I immediately began to lose vision, my eyes filled with tears, and then I fell into a coma for about two hours,” he said.

When he regained consciousness, Abu Foul realized he had completely lost his sight, describing the experience as a moment of unbearable physical and psychological pain.

Al Jazeera English released a video report detailing Mahmoud Abu Foul’s detention and the loss of his eyesight while in Israeli custody.

Similarly, the British outlet Channel 4 News published a report documenting Mahmoud’s condition before and after his imprisonment. The footage displayed photos of Mahmoud prior to his arrest with full eyesight and later, after his release, completely blind. 
Channel 4 said that it contacted the IOF to comment on Mahmoud’s loss of vision but received no response.

Meanwhile, The Sameer Project, which provided aid to Mahmoud after his release, shared a video showing him before his detention with intact eyesight. In the video, Mahmoud held the IOF responsible for his blindness caused by torture during interrogation.

In all his interviews, Mahmoud Abu Foul urged international organizations to help him evacuate Gaza to receive medical treatment for his blindness and a prosthetic limb to replace his missing left leg.

Based on the multiple interviews recounting Mahmoud’s story, Misbar’s team found that Israeli trolls doctored the photo showing him with intact eyesight.

Ex-Prisoners Recall Torture in Israeli Jails

The Guardian reported testimonies revealing the brutal torture and inhumane treatment endured by Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. 

Israeli guards gave Naseem al-Radee what they mockingly called a “farewell gift” before his release, binding his hands, forcing him to the ground, and beating him mercilessly.

IOF arrested Radee on December 9, 2023, at a school-turned-shelter, and, like many others, never charged him with a crime.

Another recently freed detainee, Mohammed al-Asaliya, a 22-year-old university student, described to the Guardian similar abuse during his imprisonment at Nafha Prison.

Arrested on December 20, 2023, from a school in Jabaliya, he said he contracted scabies due to filthy conditions and untreated wounds.

He described one of the most notorious forms of torture, a section known as “the disco”, where officers subjected detainees to loud music for days, along with hanging, cold air blasts, and chilli powder attacks.

According to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), around 2,800 Palestinians from Gaza remain imprisoned in Israeli detention facilities without charge.

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